Lynna Clark

By Lynna Clark

We love Him because He first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

The worship leaders at our church have written a new song based on this verse. It goes like this: ” I love how He loved me first. He called me from the grave, pulled me from the dirt, I love how He loved me first.” *

I wish you could hear me sing it. Talk about a joyful noise! After a recent surgery, I wondered if I’d live to tell about it. And frankly, I didn’t much care. But you know what? God called me from the grave, pulled me from the dirt; all because He loved me first.

My love for Him will never match His great lovingkindness toward me. But I can sure appreciate how much He cares. When I think about all the ways He loves me, worship comes easy. Thank You Lord.

*What a Miracle,” featuring Chris Brown and Elevation Worship

“Hey man! Don’t be takin’ my donkey!”

That’s what I would’ve said if a couple of strangers came up to my house and started untying the family beast of burden. I mean, how will we get the firewood home, or take grandma to prayer meeting? You can’t just go around taking people’s donkeys.

“The Lord needs it.”

That’s what Jesus told his friends to say when He sent them to fetch the donkey. Apparently that’s all it took. The owner had no problem sending his valuable property with strangers. He wasn’t promised a great return on his investment. He wasn’t promised the donkey would be brought back fed and watered… or even returned at all.

All he knew was that the Lord needed something he had.

If I had a donkey, I can hear myself reasoning…

“Sorry guys. It’s the only donkey I’ve got. You’re gonna have to find yourself another mode of transportation. I just made the last payment. Had to finance it for six years, but finally it’s all mine.”

“What? The Lord needs it? The Lord has everything. What does He need MY donkey for?”

I’m afraid me and my donkey would’ve missed the Jesus parade… the only one He ever had.

In fact, I think I would’ve missed a lot of things.

I don’t believe I would’ve climbed a tree to get a better look. People would surely laugh at a grown woman in a tree.

I wouldn’t have called Him up for a night time meeting so He could answer my questions. Folks might talk.

I doubt I would have given my lunch to Him when everyone realized it was time to eat and there was no food. What good would my little pitiful sack lunch do?

And I KNOW I would not have stepped out of a perfectly good boat to go traipsing across the water. Who would take such a risk?

Not me.

In fact, everything is just fine the way it is. So Lord, I’m here for You… right here in my cozy house, with plenty to eat, and my nice warm bed, surrounded by things and people I love, with my precious donkey safely tied outside.

Hmmm… Sounds like a parade off in the distance.

I wonder if I’m missing something.

By Lynna Clark

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” -Isaiah 26:3

Perfect peace…. complete trust…. a mind set on the truth of His Word…

What a gift!

Bonus verse: “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.” -Deut. 7:9

Oh what a wonderful God we serve!

Back in October when I had emergency surgery I fell into a deep dark hole. It was a hard place to dig out of. I think the combination of pain, drugs and election coverage sent me to a very bad place. Sheesh. It was not a happy field trip. This time I was determined to think of things the Lord advised as I slipped off to sleep. Apparently someone needed to check a vital and I startled from my happy slumber. No more lambs carried by Jesus. But somewhere in the background, guitar music played old familiar hymns and my heart sang along. The Savior led me like a Shepherd and my heart was tuned to sing His praises. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on those everlasting arms. The light went off, the nurse left, but the music continued.

“Is this too loud mama?” my sweet daughter asked. That would be Stephanie. She plays guitar and had found a playlist to drown out some of the commotion that comes with every hospital room. “No honey. It’s good. I thought I’d died and gone to Hobby Lobby.”

After that, we made it a habit to play old hymns during the night. I know it made a significant difference. Right now, I’ve got a lot of things to worry about. I won’t list them here. God knows what they are. Instead, I’ll do my best to think on these things: “Whatever is pure, lovely, of good report…” check out the list in Philippians 4:8,9. Apparently it’s the way to fix my thoughts. May the Lord give you strength to do the same with the things you carry as well. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Photo by my daddy, Seabert Pittman, back when sailing was a little smoother.

By Lynna Clark

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” -Hebrews 13:8

What does that mean to you? To me it is a reminder that He can be trusted… always. My circumstances can take a nose-dive when I least expect it. But I can rest assured that Jesus never fails. The One Who told me yesterday that He would never leave me is still faithfully walking me through whatever dark valley I stumble into today. Everything around seems to be changing. However, Jesus stays true.

Psalm 73:26- “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.”

Listen Please

“O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised.” -Psalm 119:169

Have you ever met someone with true discernment? They are a rarity. So much stuff goes out as news when in truth, it is not real at all. I got a text the other day explaining the great danger I was in because of unpaid toll fees. Honey I don’t even drive anymore. That one was easy. But at another time I quickly cancelled my credit card because of unusual activity. Turns out it was just a charge I forgot I made. Of course discernment in Scripture is waaayyy more important. The above prayer is really needed today. Especially when something new comes along.

Dear Lord, please bless us with Your discerning wisdom.

Sly as a fox? Or maybe wise as serpents, harmless as doves. We spotted these beautiful creatures in the dunes at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Thankfully we had sense enough to keep our distance.

By Lynna Clark

“I DO believe! But help me overcome my unbelief!” -Mark 9:24

At times it’s hard to get our heart to rest in what we already know. That’s when we ask the Lord for help in our faith journey. How often do I need to cry out to Him, “Help my unbelief!” Comfort comes like a big warm hug as He promises in Hebrews 13:5:

“I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Then by His grace, “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths bringing honor to His Name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.” -Psalm 23:3,4

Oh dear sweet Lord! I DO believe. Please hold my hand, strengthen and guide me in the days to come.

Let Me Live

Sometimes we get a heaping dose of scary truth; a reality check of large proportion. None of us will live forever. Obviously. Scripture even mentions an age expectancy of three score and ten. That’s seventy if you don’t relate to Abraham Lincoln math. So David and I are there. The past few months have been…. eventful. And a wee bit disconcerting. However! Psalm 119:71 says, “My suffering was good for me; for it taught me to pay attention to Your decrees.”

Yep. Been paying attention all right. Nothing like near death or the near death of a loved one to bring things into focus. Psalm 119:175 closes out with this simple prayer. “Let me live so I can praise You.”

Dear Lord, help us all praise You better than we ever have before. With our actions, our thoughts, with all the life we have left. But thank You for Your sweet promise that “To live is Christ. But to die is gain.” Since I know You, I really can’t lose. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Another beautiful photo by Seabert Pittman. Nobody appreciates the beauty of nature more than my daddy.

By Lynna Clark

Although they kept David in the hospital an extra day, all is well. He’s very tired but at least at home, he can catch up on some much needed rest. Thank you for all your prayers. They mean so much to us. Next week he’ll resume chemo and hopefully tolerate it a bit better.

Also next week I’ll be having surgery to finish repairing a ruptured intestine. As you probably know, I had emergency surgery this past October. The doctor wanted to give me time to heal before we did a second surgery. Turns out I really am full of crap, but you probably already knew that too. Who knew they had a cure for that?! I just hope it works. Thankfully we have two local daughters already taking care of us. Our third daughter will be driving twelve hours from Illinois on Monday to pitch in as well. We seriously are so blessed.

Well… except for the whole cancer, heart valve, chemo, and exploding intestine… life is pretty good. I hope to share some great verses from Psalm 119 next week. But if I don’t, you’ll know why. For today, our prayer verse is from Psalm 119:77. “Surround me with your tender mercies, so I may live.” To that I would add, and David too. Though we turn 70 this year, I think the Lord has a few more things for us to do.

Much love dear friends. Thanks for praying

By Lynna Clark

“How wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is.” from Ephesians 3:18

Years ago, we were on the beach at the Outer Banks, NC. David and I walked hand in hand at the edge of the surf away from the others. As far as we could see, in any direction there was only the Lord’s creation. Sand and the dunes stretched wide and long. A beautiful sky swirled with cotton white clouds reached high above us. An ocean teaming with life expanded too deep to be fully explored. The Lord says in our passage for today, that His love is too great to be understood. Maybe that’s why He gives us beautiful pictures like this so we can get a glimpse.

Rest in His amazing love today.

By Lynna Clark

“Great is His faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh every morning.”

This sweet hopeful verse is found in the midst of a the sorrowful book of Lamentations chapter 3:23. Just before it, the author says, “I will never forget this awful time.”

We’ve been there. I bet you have too. Yet in the midst of it all, God’s faithfulness is greater than all our suffering. Our strength, our plans, our resources will fail. Hold tightly to the One Who is trustworthy. Not only is His faithfulness great, it along with His mercy is fresh and new every single morning!

Bonus verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9- “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 

Praise God! When I am weak, He is strong. He is enough.

By Lynna Clark

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7

I used to live in fear. Even though I knew the Lord, I allowed fear to control me in every aspect of my life. Eventually I went to counseling and a very wise man pointed out this verse. For if fear is not from God, then where was it coming from? Was it of my own making? Or maybe the very pits of hell.

Hebrews 2:15 reveals that when Jesus died for us, He set us free from the fear that has kept us captive all our lives. Finally it dawned on me. Why would I choose to be a slave to fear when Christ has set me free?

Fear is a stalker and can easily rob us of rest. Instead let’s choose faith: the confidence that God truly has our best interest at heart. According to our verse for today, that is also the key to a sound mind. Wouldn’t that be nice!

By Lynna Clark

“The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust.” -Psalm 103:13,14

Sometimes we get the impression that God is a demanding old grouch who expects too much from us. This passage sure does make me happy. He knows how very weak I am. He knows what I’m made of. And it is not rainbows and sunshine. He knows because He made me. I am just dust. So any good thing I accomplish in my life is a joy. For how much expectation would He place on dust?

By Lynna Clark

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” -James1:17

What a thought! ALL the good things, all the blessings, every joy in our life is sent to us by God. And best of all, because of His unchanging character, this will never change. As the old hymn says, “Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Tonight, focus with me on all the good things coming down from our heavenly Father.

Bonus verse:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared for them that love Him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9